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That is why they are conditioned and have everything they need to be successful hunters.
Again, well within that "controlled" environment... and with much supervision (human companion always around) I would hope.
My FIL also has coon hounds for rabbit and or raccoon hunting... he is always with them.
But he also had to put down a few when some unforeseen accidents happen.
He love his coon hounds too (won blue ribbons & such)... but NOT as a family member for certain.
He sure won't put down any "family member" even if he had to.
Is what I am saying.
If that dog IS a family member (not only a pet "level")...
To me, he/she would be too precious to be "lost" in the dark or forgot their way back from chasing too far a track etc. (and believe me, it happens even to the best of "hunters").
So, even if my dog is a LGD, and can hunt bears, scare away coyotes & yes, there is even a story of a mommy dog killing a mountain lion & also dying saving its own pups... even as an independent thinker breed... he is NOT going to be out there with my live stock totally "unsupervised".
Just NOT going to happen especially when he is my baby boy or even when he is that big boy.
Can't happen... be too afraid for "lawsuits" from many cyclist that come my way... or that "potential" huge big dent that will happen to any cars/trucks that come down my country road.
Again, well within that "controlled" environment... and with much supervision (human companion always around) I would hope.
My FIL also has coon hounds for rabbit and or raccoon hunting... he is always with them.
But he also had to put down a few when some unforeseen accidents happen.
He love his coon hounds too (won blue ribbons & such)... but NOT as a family member for certain.
He sure won't put down any "family member" even if he had to.
Is what I am saying.
If that dog IS a family member (not only a pet "level")...
To me, he/she would be too precious to be "lost" in the dark or forgot their way back from chasing too far a track etc. (and believe me, it happens even to the best of "hunters").
So, even if my dog is a LGD, and can hunt bears, scare away coyotes & yes, there is even a story of a mommy dog killing a mountain lion & also dying saving its own pups... even as an independent thinker breed... he is NOT going to be out there with my live stock totally "unsupervised".
Just NOT going to happen especially when he is my baby boy or even when he is that big boy.
Can't happen... be too afraid for "lawsuits" from many cyclist that come my way... or that "potential" huge big dent that will happen to any cars/trucks that come down my country road.
LOL......
One of ours hound Rip I have a dysfunctional family relationship with.
I love him dearly.
I have spent thousands of dollars on his training, competition, health care and his "real" hunting trips.
A while back he put me in the hospital.
But, as I type this Rip is with my hubby hunting very real bear in the Smokey Mountains.
I don't necessarily feel sorry for dogs that don't do what they were bred to do as long as they are happy. However, I do feel bad for the ones whose owners don't take it into consideration when choosing a dog then wind up rehoming (or even worse, abusing) the dog for doing what it's meant to do. Don't want a dog that will chase down the neighbor's cat if given the opportunity? Don't get a greyhound. Don't act surprised when your husky tends to pull at the leash. Want a guard dog? Don't get a retriever. Don't do much activity? Don't get a border collie. etc...
Man domesticated dogs and that leaves the question, what do you do with a dog who exhibits natural instincts which go against 'friendly' domestication.
I fostered rescue dogs, as many of you do here, and I could have up to 10 of them in my house without cages and without issue. That is, until one tiny chi showed up. He was fine when I brought him in when other dogs and puppies were already here before him, but could not handle any dog that came in after him.
One day, I found one of the foster pups dead in the back yard and it was apparent it was from one of the other dogs, but which I did not know. I was so devestated. Time went by and I had adopted this chi dog, my first mistake, since I was not versed in owning small dogs. I could handle the occassional dead squirrel and bird in my living room brought in through the dog door, but when I started fostering again and there was another dead puppy, there was no doubt as to who did it. You never heard such screams.
Most people in the program would have immediately taken that dog and put her down and I had HUGE mixed emotions about it. How can I kill a dog for doing what comes as a natural instinct? Or was it? He simply went against the grain of human domestication. I gave up fostering and kept him for a year, but he got worse and was making my other dog who had been here longer completely miserable and it wasn't until I had taken that other dog to some other foster's house and saw the way she was playing and romping around with another foster did I realize this. Eventually, I had to put the chi to sleep and it was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do. Since he came from the rescue I fostered for they took care of it and allowed me to re-adopt Possum, although I doubt I will ever feel comfortable fostering again.
It's been a year or so and I still have mixed emotions over what I did, because of the concept of man domesticating animals and a dog exhibiting natural instincts. I did try to find a chi exclusive rescue and get their help in maybe putting him in a single dog only home, but even they were not enthusiastic about the issues he had.
On the flip side I adopted a dog, and named it Possum.
Possum was the complete opposite of the chi and instead of killing everything in sight, she liked to adopt other animals.
The two dogs were at the end of the bed and I got up around two am and saw at the end of the bed a reaaaaaaaaaaal long pink tail coming out of the sheets and hanging over the end of the bed. Possum was awake, laying on her side, propped up on her one leg very casually. I thought, "OH NO a dead rat" and whipped the sheets back real fast and what I saw was alive and looking petrified right back at me. It was snuggled up against Possum's belly and she had adopted it and brought it in through the dog door and into the bed.
I immediately jumped back and then got a spatuala and an old dog food bag and then did a bit of catch and release into the backyard over the fence.
The next day I started to feel bad that I had taken Possum's baby away from here and thought about if it was possible to domesticate a possum and should I have let her keep it, but that it was from the rodent family. I agonized about it. She just did what came natural to her.
My smooth collie was bred to drive cattle to the market (while my rough was bred to herd them).
Both of them perfectly happy to play frisbee or run with me. Smoothie loves to swim with us. Both love(d) fetch and tug of war. Most of all, they love(d) plopping down on the sofa with us and getting skritches.
I don't necessarily feel sorry for dogs that don't do what they were bred to do as long as they are happy. However, I do feel bad for the ones whose owners don't take it into consideration when choosing a dog then wind up rehoming (or even worse, abusing) the dog for doing what it's meant to do. Don't want a dog that will chase down the neighbor's cat if given the opportunity? Don't get a greyhound. Don't act surprised when your husky tends to pull at the leash. Want a guard dog? Don't get a retriever. Don't do much activity? Don't get a border collie. etc...
OK, now see, this is what I am talking about especially with the comment about labs. The older lab we adopted had to be darted in order to be removed from the yard where her crappy family left her when they moved. They had 2 animal control officers and 3 policemen onsite. I could not believe it when we went to see her! She came in, sniffed around and laid down by our family for a nap. Besides the "need" for regular opportunities for swimming, I had heard they were friendly with everyone and not a guard dog. Think Yellow Dog isn't a guard dog? She is a very intelligent guard dog and when she sees that I am OK with a person or situation, she lets down her "guard". She has very big teeth and when bared, I'm thinking guard dog maximum. A lab turned out to be the dog I always wanted and I realize that she may be an exception to the norm but there are many exceptions and when adopting an adult, what you see is what you get so an adult of any breed, especially an older one, might just be the exception you are looking for.
OK, now see, this is what I am talking about especially with the comment about labs. The older lab we adopted had to be darted in order to be removed from the yard where her crappy family left her when they moved. They had 2 animal control officers and 3 policemen onsite. I could not believe it when we went to see her! She came in, sniffed around and laid down by our family for a nap. Besides the "need" for regular opportunities for swimming, I had heard they were friendly with everyone and not a guard dog. Think Yellow Dog isn't a guard dog? She is a very intelligent guard dog and when she sees that I am OK with a person or situation, she lets down her "guard". She has very big teeth and when bared, I'm thinking guard dog maximum. A lab turned out to be the dog I always wanted and I realize that she may be an exception to the norm but there are many exceptions and when adopting an adult, what you see is what you get so an adult of any breed, especially an older one, might just be the exception you are looking for.
[quote=nuala;2653362.
We subject the majority of breeds to the same pattern: being indoors, eating ersatz-food, chewing ersatz-bones, living ersatz-life. Why do we need the breeds then? Mutts suit better to the non-specialized life.[/quote]
Mutts are only good for the above? I find that most mutts do have the drive of at least one parent and can be very active dogs that have the same traits as a purebred. Jazz was a mutt and she was just as much of a crazy prey driven active herder and any purebred herding dog. And Dash and Chaos too need an outlet for their enegry thus agility Just because a dog is a mutt does not mean it fits into human life better. I think with a purebred you at least know what to expect ( but there are exceptions as others have pointed out) So if you do your homework you can choose a breed that should fit your life while with a mutt you do not know what you are getting and that cute little mutt that you hope will lay around and watch TV and snack with you may be a dog that needs lots of activity, while had you gotten some type of sighthound you would more then likely gotten your couch buddy.
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